No increase in fees to access no-call registry

The Federal Trade Commission will not increase the fees required to access the National Do Not Call Registry this year.

Fees will remain at $62 per area code of data with the first five area codes of data provided at no cost. The fee for accessing the entire registry will remain at $17,050. Exempt organizations will still receive access to the registry at no cost.

"To be in compliance with the do-not-call laws, telemarketers have to check their lists against the national do-not-call registry at least every 31 days and they have to pay a fee to do this," said Stephanie Hendricks, director of public affairs at the Direct Marketing Association. "This is just a heads up that the FTC is switching the vendor who manages the list."

During the transition, telemarketers will be unable to access the lists or make scheduled payments for several days. Telemarketers will need to make plans to re-arrange their schedules so they can make sure they stay in compliance with the 31-day rule, Hendricks said.

The FTC help desk will close at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 28 and reopen at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 4.

During that time, they will not be able to subscribe to the registry, pay for area codes, manage/renew subscriptions, manage clients or download telephone numbers.

There will be no interruption of service on the consumer registration Web site at www.donotcall.gov or the registry's toll-free numbers, 888-382-1222 and 866-290-4236 (TTY).

For telemarketers, sellers and service providers who are required to pay a fee to access the National Do Not Call Registry, the registry will not accept ACH transactions, which includes debit or bank cards, as payment starting at 12:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, September 26. ACH payments will resume at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 4.

The registry will continue to accept payment via credit card transactions through September 30.

For credit card transactions after 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 28, there will be no help desk support until 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 4.

Entities whose subscriptions end in September will be able to renew those subscriptions in August.

"The stabilization of the access fees for the Do Not Call Registry is positive for telemarketers, especially since DNC fees have steadily increased since their implementation," said Tim Searcy, American Teleservices Association's chief executive officer. "To ensure compliance, telemarketers may need to restructure their download schedule to accommodate the system ædown times.'"

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